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Do I need a Firewall (and what is it?) (1 Viewer)

David Smith

Warrington Lancs
I have the free AVG version 9 which scans automatically once a day. To my knowledge I dont have anything else (apart from CCleaner which I use occasionally).
Do I also need a Firewall?
If so-what is it- i.e. what does it do?
Will it conflict with anything else?
Can anyone recommend a good free download ?

Thanks
 
Hi David

AVG checks for viruses.

A Firewall stops people from gaining unauthorised access to your computer (i.e. hackers).
ZoneAlarm is the one I use. You train it to know who to allow access to.

D
 
Your OS (Operating System) should have a firewall as default, I will guess and say you have Microsoft Windows, this should already have a Firewall and unless you have turned it off it is always enabled.

I use AVG Free and Windows Firewall it is all you really need, it is always down to common sense and what you should be downloading
 
I assume you have to know what your doing in order to "train it".......which probably lets me out:egghead:

No, it is quite easy... when ZoneAlarm detects something trying to access it pops up and asks if it's OK - you check Yes (with always as an option) or Deny (I think anyway LOL it's a while since it asked me).

D
 
Howard said that there were some other firewalls that probably are better than zonealarm, such as Comodo.

The better firewalls look at both incoming and outgoing activity, with the idea that a virus/malware that your virus checker did not catch should be hindered in sending your banking information out on the web. Windows firewall (again according to Howard) only looks at incoming traffic.

Niels
 
Howard said that there were some other firewalls that probably are better than zonealarm, such as Comodo.

The better firewalls look at both incoming and outgoing activity, with the idea that a virus/malware that your virus checker did not catch should be hindered in sending your banking information out on the web. Windows firewall (again according to Howard) only looks at incoming traffic.

Niels

Howard is both right and wrong on this one. Your main concern here is that you do not want any virus that forwards information on you back to the bad guys whether your virus scanner detects it or not. Those bad guys (Criminals) are wise to your firewalls vulnerabilities, they will pick a port that is open and your firewall will allow them to send this information out, port 80 the one your using for browsing the net, or any other open port like 443, they have 0 to 65535 ports to choose from are they all closed the answer is no there not, I would say most are open?
 
I just checked my system on the Shields up that Duke Leto linked to. The first 1-1055 ports are all shown as present but closed. I have a router with probably a hardware firewall (the add said that is included) and behind that, my pc is running comodo.

Shields up claim that likely ports accepting connections are found among these 1055 first ones.

Niels
 
Niels, they should be in stealth mode rather than closed, closed I believe means there visible but as it says closed, stealth means that the internet can't see them which is better
 
Thanks for the help.
I am on windows. When I receive an email from someone my computer doesn't recognise it prevents me from opening pictures/attachements until I tell it otherwise (if I dont recognise the sender I always 'junk' it)..........is this the windows firewall working ?

I will go on 'shields up' and see what that tells me.
 
Hi David,
I am on windows.
Windows XP, Vista, 7 ... or ? And which Service Pack? Use the Windows key + Pause/Break to see a window with your version details.

Some Windows versions have firewalls that are switched on by default, one version had a firewall that was off by default, earlier Windows had no firewall built-in, see Firewalls in Windows versions. For cautious, experienced PC users of non-shared, regularly-patched machines, the firewalls provided with Vista and W7 are often quite adequate provided the computer is connected to the internet via a via a network cable to a router, see What is a firewall?. Connecting wirelessly to a router is less secure from a local perspective.
When I receive an email from someone my computer doesn't recognise it prevents me from opening pictures/attachements until I tell it otherwise (if I dont recognise the sender I always 'junk' it)..........is this the windows firewall working ?
Not the firewall but the security settings within the email program.

Andy.
 
Quite possible. There are some ways described to disable one and test the other, but as the router is likely to be there full time, I could not be worried and i don't have time to look into this further.

Niels
 
My remarks were intended for Laptop/Notebook users, who may be behind a hardware router/firewall at home or in the Office, but are vulnerable using wifi whilst on the road.
That's when Comodo shows its worth...
 
Hi David

You should have a number of keys which you never look at. They're in different positions, depending on your keyboard.

The 'Windows' key has the Windows logo on it (like a 4 section flag). Another key should have "Pause and Break" on it (mine is in the top row along with the 'f' keys).

You press them at the same time.

D
 
Hi David
You should have a number of keys which you never look at. They're in different positions, depending on your keyboard.
The 'Windows' key has the Windows logo on it (like a 4 section flag). Another key should have "Pause and Break" on it (mine is in the top row along with the 'f' keys).
You press them at the same time.
D

Thank you-you are so right-they are right where you said!!!
Now I look there are lots of 'keys' about which I have no idea. Now-which ones should I try next:eek!:
 
Ok David, XP Home has a very basic firewall but it's not highly regarded; here are a couple of 'easy to configure' firewalls, PC Tools Firewall Plus and Online Armor Free.

Use 1 only and, like any other software that may affect the 'inner workings' of Windows, make sure you have a recent backup of your data before installing it.

There are more keyboard shortcuts listed on this page from SEO Consultants, with more linked from the menu ;)

Good luck,

Andy.
 
if you wish to test the firewall go to Shields Up click on proceed then all service ports, if its all green it a good un......

I just ran these tests on my MacBook. I don't know if this site is only expecting Windows users to be using their site, and I don't know if Macs are set-up to respond in different ways from those on Windows OS, but the site wasn't able to retrieve anything from my computer (or at least so it said). It said it was running in full stealth mode as if it wasn't on the internet at all.
 
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